


Early days

by puppybusby



Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: Character Study, F/F, Pre Relationship, i haven't written for 6 months can u tell by the amount of commas i used, post tusk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-06-05 22:03:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15180332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/puppybusby/pseuds/puppybusby
Summary: "It wasn’t until the dust settled and the adrenaline wore off did Nadine finally allow herself a chance to reflect."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello i would die for Chloe and Nadine and I haven't been able to write for 6 months but i want to write for these two so badly omg
> 
> For now I just wanted to do a little character study with them so i could get into their heads? I am Learning(tm)

 

It wasn’t until the dust settled and the adrenaline wore off did Nadine finally allow herself a chance to reflect.

There’s an ache that she can feel deep in her bones and as soon as Chloe is back, Nadine can let herself sleep.

Through some sheer stroke of luck, they’d stopped Asav and his train, got the tusk _and_ managed to walk away with their lives, bruised, bleeding and aching and Chloe definitely has some cracked ribs.

But they’re alive.

It was already dark by the time they’d made it back into the city and they had immediately made a beeline for a stall, introducing Nadine to a small girl who was extremely excited to see them.

_“And to think, you thought I was lying. I’m hurt, China. Hurt.”_ _  
_

Meenu had offered them the spare room, but Chloe didn’t want to risk putting Meenu in danger while they had the tusk, not while there could still be some of Asav’s men around.

Nadine couldn’t argue with that logic. Plus, she didn’t want to share a room with Sam Drake.

A rough patch up of wounds and some pizza later, Nadine found herself sat in a hotel room, sat at the balcony overlooking the market. It was far from a nice room, but the beds seemed comfortable enough and a cursory sweep had Nadine satisfied that it’d be safe for them to hole up, at least until Chloe had negotiated the future of the tusk.

For now though, the tusk was at Nadine’s side, partnered with her gun and a well earned glass of scotch. At least until her partner returned, having elected to stay behind with Meenu for a bit longer while Sam chose to get acquainted with the bar as soon as they were given their room keys.

To be on amicable terms with Sam Drake, business partners with Chloe Frazer, resident live wire and with more lives than a cat.

Shoreline.

God, Shoreline.  
  
How would her father react when he learned of what it’s become? Not even a shadow of the legacy he passed over to her.

What would he say when he learned of her new path?

Nadine sighed and took a long sip from her glass.

She hadn’t even given herself a chance to unpack her own feelings on it all. While she didn’t regret the choice she had made, agreeing to being Chloe’s partner had left Nadine with a feeling of purpose she hadn’t truly felt since the aftermath of her partnership with Rafe.

Nadine was going to be out of her depth, out of her comfort zone, something that she hated. It meant that she was going to have to put a lot of faith in Chloe to teach her.

The thought didn’t scare her as much as she thought it would. They complimented each other in so many ways, chalk it up to luck or not, but Nadine couldn’t deny that Chloe had a skill when it came to improvising and bullshitting her way through any scenario. Nadine still wanted to make sure that she took the time to show Chloe a bit more… subtlety when it came to combat situations.

She’d settle for Chloe taking a bit more care with climbing, she isn’t sure her blood pressure can cope if she has to watch Chloe almost fall to her death again.

It makes Nadine wonder, what if she hadn’t been there? She didn’t have enough fingers to count the times Chloe could have died on her watch today.

With a sinking feeling in her gut, Nadine had to ask herself, what if something had happened when they were separated? When it was only an hour prior she was sat at Chloe’s side, counting the minutes and just hoping, _praying_ that she woke up.

It struck Nadine that during their whole encounter with the elephant, and Chloe stumbling her way through her own apology, that Nadine never really apologised for that punch, for leaving her the way that she did.

Nadine found herself drinking in silence, somehow, every one of her thoughts found their way back to Chloe.

She also found it interesting how quickly ones priorities could realign themselves.

Trust was one of the few things she would not give freely, trust was something that she was taught to hold close to her. To trust is to let your guard down.

And yet, when it came to it, she had handed her trust to Chloe, she had taken up arms and risked her life to stop that train.

They both knew when to walk away, Chloe could have left her on that train and be done with her.

Nadine could have left her once they had the tusk, let her run her suicide mission with just Sam to aid her.

There weren’t enough hours left in the night for Nadine to wrap her thoughts around it all.

Not that it really mattered, there was so much unsaid between them, but for now Nadine could take comfort in knowing that this path, as unknown as it is, is a path that they could walk and figure out together.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chloeeeeee

 

Chloe’s feet were just about ready to fall off by the time she reached the hotel, she could have cried from relief at seeing Sam, sat at the bar, seemingly at the point of falling asleep himself.

Although at seeing Chloe, he instantly brightened and waved down a bartender.

“I was beginning to wonder where you’d gotten off to.”   
  
“My body has started to realise that it has been through hell and back.” Chloe swiped Sam’s beer and pressed the bottle to her side, of all of her aches and pains, her ribs were definitely a focus point for her. “Where’s Nadine?”   
  
“In your room, with the tusk.”

The bartender came around and Sam ordered another round of drinks for them both, the air around them was lively enough that neither felt the immediate need to speak.

Which, considering their personalities, was quite the feat.

Although, she was still Chloe, and he was still Sam, and so silence is never going to be long lasting.

“What a day, huh?” Sam said.

“Understatement of the goddamn year.” Chloe replied.  
  


She took a moment to close her eyes, she’d have to head up in a few minutes. They had a lot of work to do in the morning and Chloe was already certain she was going to crash out for several hours. At the very least she wanted a chance to talk to Nadine again before she truly called it a night.

“So, how does it feel?” Sam asked.

Chloe cracked one eye open and stared at Sam for a long moment.

“Nearly breaking all of my ribs? Getting choked out by an evil dictator? Actually getting the treasure I set out to get and doing it without destroying the ancient city it was in?” Chloe listed off every thought that popped into her head. Sam stared back at her with a look of mild annoyance. “I’m just gonna keep listing things because I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Sam laughed heartily. “I mean, how does it feel to be a hero.”

Chloe didn’t intend to inhale her beer, and she definitely didn’t expect the sudden pain that followed by her trying not to cough out her lungs.

Unsurprisingly, it hurt.

A lot.

“Shit, Chloe, you okay?”

Chloe let out a soft groan and leaned back in her chair, pressing a hand to her side. “Yep. Yeah, totally fine.” She carefully let out a breath. “I’m sorry, I think I blacked out for a minute. Did you say hero?”

“Yup.”  
  
“You, you see why I’m having trouble processing this?”

“No?” Sam frowned. “Chloe, you found the tusk, you stood up to Asav, you stopped his train.” He made a sweeping gesture around them. “You saved these people's lives and they don’t even know about it. Sounds like a hero to me.”  
  
Chloe grimaced, Christ, he had a point.

Chloe Frazer, professional thief, amateur treasure hunter. Hero.

Nope, no, those words do not sound right together.   
  
“Nate would be proud, shit, he’s going to be when he hears about this.”   
  
It made Chloe uneasy, to think of it like that. She wasn’t the hero type. She just wanted to live an adventure, to always know when to walk away.

Yeah, it was different this time. To walk away would have been a monstrous thing to do, there hadn’t been another alternative.

It didn’t seem fair to call herself a hero. At least not without...

“I wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for Nadine. She’s just as much a…” God, the word is even hard to say. “She’s a hero too you know.”  
  
Sam considered the words for a moment, and Chloe could feel her body coiling, brain preparing a dozen comebacks in preparation for some smart mouthed retort about Nadine.

While they may not be actively planning to kill each other anymore, there was still a lot of tension. Chloe didn’t want them to risk breaking what small bridges they had built today.

“Yeah okay.” He conceded. “Heroes, plural.”

“Sam-”  
  
He held up a hand. “Just… Think about it, okay?” He took a another large gulp of his beer. “I haven’t known you as long as Nate has, but he told me about you and hell, the Chloe I was drinking tequila with a few weeks ago is a long shot from the Chloe i’m looking at today.”

Chloe does feel different, although she hadn’t planned on confronting those thoughts anytime soon.

She could say that part of it came with finally confronting her feelings about her father, the pain she felt for all those years not knowing, not understanding _why_ he sent them away. Standing in that room, finally understanding Ganesh and his sacrifice. Seeing the tusk....

It felt like she had finished his journey.

Chloe could also say, with more confidence than she was willing to admit, that she owed most of it to Nadine.

Nadine had given her the room to speak openly, and without judgment, about her feelings for her father. Had encouraged her in their pursuit for the tusk and stopping Asav.

Hell, she had saved Chloe’s skin enough times to warrant free drinks for the next year.  
  
(Not that Chloe would admit to that)   
  
Nadine had done more for Chloe than she could really comprehend. It was a lot to process.

Chloe planned on trying to make it up to her, to try and help her the same way that Nadine had helped her.

She wasn’t a fool, she knew how much Nadine valued trust.

(In fact, when she thinks of trust, she immediately gets a flashback to the hurt and anger in Nadine’s eyes, the moment before she socks Chloe in the jaw)  
  
Nadine trusted Chloe enough to walk into what they had thought was a suicide mission, to put her anger at Sam aside at Chloe’s request, for the sake of their pursuit of the tusk.

Safety is a feeling that Chloe doesn’t get to experience much, in her line of work. She’s perfectly capable, of course. Chloe refuses to see herself as some damsel in distress.

But there’s a certain comfort in having Nadine as a partner, a comfort she hadn’t even felt in her times with Nate.

(Though she does recall a similar feeling, the parallels lead Chloe to a whole other line of thoughts that she _definitely_ isn’t ready to face yet)   
  
“So....” Sam begins, awkwardly trying to regain Chloe’s attention once more. “What’s next for you two? After all this is wrapped up?”   
  
“No idea, might reach out to some contacts. I have this new partner, she’s kinda new to this whole treasure hunting thing, so I figured i’d let her choose.” Chloe gestured towards Sam with her bottle. “And you?”   
  
“Might call Sully, see what he’s up to, he might have something in the works.” He rose to his feet. “But, for now, I’m going to turn in.”   
  
He made a point of stretching and swearing under his breath. It’s comforting to Chloe to know she’s not the only one in pain right now.

“Oh, and Chloe?”  
  
“Hm?”   
  
“The whole hero thing-”   
  
“Sam.”   
  
He held up his hands in surrender. “I’m just sayin’, you know what else happens in a hero's journey?”   
  
“I have a feeling you’re going to tell me anyw-”   
  
“The hero gets the girl.”   
  
So much for keeping those thoughts under the surface.

“I will throw this bottle at you, and it will hurt.” Chloe warned.

“Alright, alright, i’m going.”

As soon as he disappeared, Chloe sighed.

She had been through the whole spectrum of emotions today, she was fully prepared to put off dealing with any thoughts of attraction to her (new) partner.

Her totally badass, incredibly attractive and thoughtful partner who was no doubt waiting for her in their room.

“Well, shit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still reading? Love you even more
> 
> I promise that Chloe and Nadine actually interact in the next chapter


	3. Chapter 3

 

She walked into their room ten minutes later, unsurprised to find Nadine still awake and sat at the balcony.

It’s almost strange to see her, actually relaxed for a change, even with a gun so casually resting on the small table beside her.

That was probably as close to relaxed as Nadine was going to get, so long as they have the tusk.

“Aw, you waited up, that’s sweet of you.” Chloe teased.

Nadine rolled her eyes as she turned away from Chloe to look out over the city.

(Chloe didn’t miss the slight quirk of Nadine’s lip though)

“Ja. Just in case you managed to crack some other bones while you were out. How are your ribs?”  
  
“Tender, slightly crunchy.” Chloe replied. She locked the door behind her and crossed the room, grabbing an empty glass and the bottle of scotch from the counter.

Nadine watched her take the seat beside her, the concern clear in her expression as Chloe took the seat  beside her.

“You do realise that they aren’t supposed to do that, right?” Nadine asked. “We should find a doctor.”

Chloe poured herself a glass of scotch and filled Nadine’s glass once she received a nod of permission.

“That, is a problem for tomorrow. Tonight, we’re having a drink and sleeping.”  
  
“Fair deal.” Nadine agreed after a moment.   
  
Chloe didn’t doubt for a minute that Nadine wouldn’t drag her to a hospital if she had refused.

“I still can’t believe it.” Nadine said.

“Which part?”  
  
“All of it.”

Chloe hummed and let her attention shift towards Nadine. She wondered if this was what it was going to be like now. Shared hotel rooms and staying up past midnight, drinking scotch and nursing their wounds.

Maybe pouring over maps and centuries old journals.

Christ, it all sounded so domestic.  
  
And Chloe couldn’t wait.

“I think the last time you were quiet for this long, you were unconscious.” Nadine said suddenly.

Chloe laughed. “Figured you’d appreciate the break.”  
  
“It’s unsettling.”   
  
“You’d rather I keep talking?” Chloe asked.

Nadine shrugged. “You looked thoughtful.”

“Just wondering where we should go next.”  
  
Nadine sipped from her glass. “I’m sure you’ll think of something. Will they always involve power hungry men? I know Nathan Drake has a track record.”   
  
Chloe sighed, thoughts immediately drifting back to her conversation with Sam.

“Hopefully not, I’m not a fan of bullet wounds.” Chloe spent a full two seconds debating whether or not to voice her thoughts. “Do you think we’re heroes?”  
  
Nadine turned fully in her seat to face Chloe, frowning. “Heroes?”   
  
Chloe nodded, and Nadine seemed to realise that Chloe was serious in her question. She thought for a minute or two, almost finishing her drink in the process.

“Even though I didn’t agree with your choice, what you wanted to do, what we did, was the right thing. It was reckless as hell, but yeah. A heroic action.” She smiled at Chloe and Chloe was certain that she felt her doubts wash away. “Not heroes though, not yet.”  
  
“Not yet?”   
  
“We might need to save a few more cities first, find some more ancient cities. But it’s early days for us yes, don’t you think?”   
  
Chloe wasn’t sure if she was right to read between the lines of Nadine’s words, but she wasn’t wrong. 

Things were new between them, but there was something there, something Chloe couldn’t wait to explore.

Nadine must have felt something similar, the excitement was there in her eyes, gaze unwavering from Chloe’s own.

“Well then,” Chloe cleared her throat and raised her glass. “To early days.”  
  
Nadine laughed and clinked her glass against Chloe’s.

“To early days.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe there will be another chapter?  
> For now I did genuinely just want this to be a trial run, I'm so out of it with writing that i'm just thankful i managed to make something
> 
> Thank you for reading, any feedback or requests would be greatly appreciated  
> Feel free to hmu on tumblr @ yashastrongarms
> 
> Much love

**Author's Note:**

> Hello if you read this i love you and thank you


End file.
